The Belt, a street-art-lined alley beside the Z parking garage in downtown Detroit, will soon add dining and drinks to its attractions, as its creators turn it into what they envision as a one-of-a-kind outdoor entertainment destination.

Anthony Curis, a developer and gallery owner — along with partners Brendon Edwards, Joe Robinson and David Goldman — plan to open the Skip, an outdoor bar recessed into the alley wall, and Standby, a stylish cocktail bar and restaurant, by Sept. 1. Both spaces — as well the Z parking garage — are owned by Bedrock.

Standby and the Skip represent "just a sliver" of what the Belt will eventually offer, said Curis, 34, a founder of the Library Street Collective gallery and vice president of Curis Enterprises, a Detroit-based real estate company.

"We fully intend to make this a much larger project" that will include shops, other places to eat and drink, live entertainment and events such as gallery openings, he said. "There are a lot of little puzzle pieces that we're trying to connect, each one being something that's really unique — something for everyone."

Edwards, 32, is the project's executive chef, and Robinson, 28, is hospitality and beverage director. They last worked together at Antietam restaurant in Eastern Market, which they left soon after it opened. Goldman is an investor.

Dan Mullen, Bedrock Real Estate executive vice president, said he likes the element of surprise and discovery the Belt adds to the urban landscape.

"I think it's so different, people fall in love with it and it becomes such a talked-about, unique thing," Mullen said. "And I like the intimacy of it. You can create a really cool corridor. You can double-load an alley with artwork and a biergarten and hidden-door entrances that lead to underground lounges."

People pack the Belt during Printed Matters Creation and Destruction, a solo exhibition featuring the work of street artist Shepard Fairey, which opened at the Library Street Collective, 1260 Library St., on May 22.(Photo: Christopher M. Bjornberg/Special to the Detroit Free Press)

'Something that draws you in'

Curis and Bedrock first worked together two years ago when Curis helped the company beautify the Z garage with more than two dozen street-art murals painted by international artists. The garage occupies the block the alley bisects, running from Gratiot to East Grand River.

They began talking then about "doing something really unique in this space, as opposed to just doing a typical alley," Curis said, and the Belt project was born.

Since then, they have installed infrastructure ranging from handsome pavers and a canopy of lights to planters and bicycle racks, and Curis recruited local, national and international artists to create the murals. Among them was Shepard Fairey, who visited Detroit last month at Bedrock's request to paint a giant mural at Campus Martius. He also opened a print exhibit at Curis' Library Street Collective.

Curis and his partners are already at work on Standby, located in a space at the corner of the Belt and Gratiot where chef Craig Lieckfelt's Guns + Butter was once expected to open.

The door will be unobtrusive and open from the Belt — not the street — so visitors will notice it only after entering the alley. "Our thought is, we'll have minimal signage outside, but something that draws you in," Curis said.

Standby's vestibule will be a century-old service elevator salvaged from the building and still looking its age. "You won't know where you are when you come in. You walk into the elevator and come out the right side here and you're into the space," he said.

The back bar will be the room's focal point and will "feel kind of cozy," Curis said. The middle third of the room will hold casual seating that ties into the bar, and a banquette will wrap around the front perimeter. Seating about 50, Standby will be bar-focused, staying open until 2 a.m. most nights.

The service kitchen is downstairs, along with a prep and commissary space large enough to support not only Standby and the Skip but other concepts coming later. Curis has options on a much larger restaurant space next door to Standby, for example.

'It's about the experience'

Robinson is developing a beverage menu featuring 50 cocktails. Most will be his own creations, but he will also feature 10 modern classics from America's best cocktail destinations. He will be hands-on at the bar so he can mentor his staff and develop relationships with guests.

"I love taking care of people. That's the biggest thing," he said. "It's not necessarily about the drink, it's about the experience."

In developing the food menu for Standby, Edwards looked to Robinson for inspiration. "This is primarily a cocktail bar,' the chef said, "and I want to play off that with American food, so the moniker is 'progressive American bar food.' " That means dishes that are interesting and original and complement Robinson's drinks.

Edwards tests his menu ideas at pop-ups and private events, such as the lunch he did at Library Street Collective last week for English billionaire investor Sir Richard Branson.

Farther down the alley from Standby, the Skip will be set into a 1,500-square-foot space indented into the Z garage. It has no front wall, so it will be entirely open to the alley. Once intended for trash bins and parking, the space now has its own liquor license and a back wall bearing a Fairey mural.

"It worked out because the (Skip) space is private property (owned by Bedrock). It's not part of the public alley," Curis said. "There is common ownership between that building and this one, and it all worked out. That's why it's really exciting: There isn't anything else like that in the city — particularly in an alley."

Cameras will deter theft and vandalism at the Skip, Curis said; other security details are being developed for its full bar and large seating area. Guests won't be able to take drinks into the public alley — at least initially — and food probably won't be available this year. Eventually, though, some kind of service kitchen, possibly a food truck or walk-up counter, will be added.

"We want this to be a great lunch place right downtown," Edwards said.

The Skip will serve frozen versions of classic cocktails such as pina coladas and frozen daiquiris. And, of course, there'll be pitchers of beer.

Collaborations and connections

Mullen calls the entire project "a big collaboration between my group internally and Anthony and his group and his wife, J.J.," a gallery cofounder. Without Curis, Mullen said, the Belt "would not have been nearly as full and unique and experiential. ... It took huge collaborations and his connections in the art world to make it happen."

The Belt will contribute to the city "in a huge way," he said. "Anthony does everything to the Nth degree. He knows exactly how to deliver something special and unique and experiential. What he's going to do with food vending at the Belt and what he's going to do with restaurants, I think, will be an enormous addition to the fabric of the city."

If Mullen has his way, the Belt won't be the city's last alley to be transformed.

"I've always been obsessed with alleys and ways to tie in cool features and mysterious features into all our developments," he said. "We'd really, really like to ... create spaces you can't get anywhere else but in downtown Detroit."

Correction: Dan Mullen's title was incorrect in previous versions of this story. This version is correct.